In my incubator I still could not get humidity above 36% and was adding a half a glass of water when I turned/tipped eggs twice a day...was really confused. Found out why this morning. I did not know there is HOLES drilled in the bottom tray. No where in the instruction booklet did it say that, no one else told me that...I was told by one person to put water in the bottom tray outside of the rings when I initially had probs getting the humidity up, so when I have been adding water- instead of moving the egg tray out of the bator, I have just been pouring it in beside the egg tray. I had the bator on a furniture pad on my antique cherry hutch, so until I added a full glass of water this morning, the pad was apparently absorbing what leaked out. This morning when I put in a full glass I heard water running. Lifted the incubator to see a stream running out the bottom! I found mold growing under the pad and the finish on my cabinet is now ruined! I am soooo ticked! Why would they drill holes into a bottom tray that is meant to hold water????
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Puppies in the future?
According to the fertile focus testing, Crystal should have ovulated on 3/29. We got an AI done on the 28th and the 30th and will do one more on the 2nd. If all goes right, we should have pups close to my birthday at the beginning of June. That would be a wonderful birthday present! Also will have kids (baby goats) around the same time, so I will certainly be able to get my "baby" fix :)
The chicks and ducklings came in- all survived the trip and are doing well. I put turkey eggs in the incubator on Sunday, so hoping to get some royal palm turkey babies from those. As a back up I ordered 5 royal palm poults from the feed store, which will be here on the 8th. Need to get rabbits bred this weekend and get my chickens separated out by breed again.
Tom is working on installing the garden pond that has been sitting out here for almost a year. It will be so cool when it is finished! We need to get the compost into the garden and the lime (according to Aunt Barb, that is why our sweet corn has not been very sweet the last couple years). We are planning on putting in the 3 raised beds for the raspberries and blueberries and herb garden this weekend too. Will hold off on planting for another couple weeks though. We have decided not to start any garden plants inside this year as with our schedules lately, would be too easy to forget to care for them.
Made a trip to South Bend this week to the dentist. As I figured, looking at some major work, but at least now there is hope of being able to eat steak and smile again since I now have 2 dental insurance plans and a care credit card (thanks to Tom).
Tabitha is supposed to come over on Friday so I can visit with the grandbabies. I can't wait!
The chicks and ducklings came in- all survived the trip and are doing well. I put turkey eggs in the incubator on Sunday, so hoping to get some royal palm turkey babies from those. As a back up I ordered 5 royal palm poults from the feed store, which will be here on the 8th. Need to get rabbits bred this weekend and get my chickens separated out by breed again.
Tom is working on installing the garden pond that has been sitting out here for almost a year. It will be so cool when it is finished! We need to get the compost into the garden and the lime (according to Aunt Barb, that is why our sweet corn has not been very sweet the last couple years). We are planning on putting in the 3 raised beds for the raspberries and blueberries and herb garden this weekend too. Will hold off on planting for another couple weeks though. We have decided not to start any garden plants inside this year as with our schedules lately, would be too easy to forget to care for them.
Made a trip to South Bend this week to the dentist. As I figured, looking at some major work, but at least now there is hope of being able to eat steak and smile again since I now have 2 dental insurance plans and a care credit card (thanks to Tom).
Tabitha is supposed to come over on Friday so I can visit with the grandbabies. I can't wait!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Spring is coming...soon.
Saw a robin so Spring is definately on its way. Last week was lovely! Got a head start on cleaning up some of the winter/late fall mess. Saturday Tom even went and got 2 truck loads of mulch...since I was already was pulling weeds out of the flower beds and laid that out. Still need to get another truckload for the butterfly garden. I got the asparagus bed cleaned out and mulched. Going to have to find some strawberry plants this week to put in as last years plants resulted in only these tiny berries all summer. I think Tom bought the wrong ones or they were mispackaged. I picked up some new raspberry plants yesterday. We are going to move the patch, I think the current location is too wet for them as I only see a couple in the drier location came back this year. Got a shipment of hertitage seeds in from Aunt Barb and we need to get some more seeds and start those very soon. Need to finish repairing the wire in the dividers in the coops so the breeds can be separated. Brandon got a start on it though. Chicks and ducklings are on the way- they shipped today.
Unfortunately, I lost my baby yesterday. Tom the royal Plam turkey who I raised from a poult and would follow me around and give me turkey hugs passed away.
He will be greatly missed. Now I am on the search for a new boyfreind for the royal palm hens. If that fails, I guess I will be ordering more poults and we will have no royal palms available this season. I still have the Bourbon Red trio, so will at least be able to breed them.
I am going to pick up a fan for my incubator and start hatching some eggs. Think I will go ahead and hatch out some of the turkey eggs for starters as I don't mind if those are mixed, I can use them for meat.
The chicks we got from a freind are so freindly. They love to follow Tom (husband) around and sit on his shoulder while he does chores. Tom enjoys thier company and often brings them in with him when he needs to grab something from the house instead of putting them down.
Tonight it is getting cold again. Not looking forward to that, but at least I won't feel pressured to get things done outside this week.
Crystal is in season. This is her last shot at being a mom....she has failed to get pregnant each time I took her out to breed, so breeding her at home this time. If she doesn't take this time, she will have to be content with being a puppy sitter. I am hoping she takes...she is such a lovely girl with an awesome temperment.
I have really liked what was produced by her brothers and expect even better from her. I will also breed either Dot (Harmony) or Autumn if they wait to come into season this year. I would rather not have 2 litters at once.
Unfortunately, I lost my baby yesterday. Tom the royal Plam turkey who I raised from a poult and would follow me around and give me turkey hugs passed away.
I am going to pick up a fan for my incubator and start hatching some eggs. Think I will go ahead and hatch out some of the turkey eggs for starters as I don't mind if those are mixed, I can use them for meat.
The chicks we got from a freind are so freindly. They love to follow Tom (husband) around and sit on his shoulder while he does chores. Tom enjoys thier company and often brings them in with him when he needs to grab something from the house instead of putting them down.
Crystal is in season. This is her last shot at being a mom....she has failed to get pregnant each time I took her out to breed, so breeding her at home this time. If she doesn't take this time, she will have to be content with being a puppy sitter. I am hoping she takes...she is such a lovely girl with an awesome temperment.
I have really liked what was produced by her brothers and expect even better from her. I will also breed either Dot (Harmony) or Autumn if they wait to come into season this year. I would rather not have 2 litters at once.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Making changes
After sitting down and looking at where our money was going this winter, we figured out why we were always broke. We looked at food cost- I already have our grocery/household supplies expenses knocked down to about $50 every 2 weeks as we use a lot of home canned items- so I only buy meat, milk, cheese, rice and pasta ( plus fresh veggies in winter), and a few household cleaners. Animal feed, I did some shopping around in a town I now have to go to for work and found chicken feed cheaper by a couple dollars, but that won't make much of a difference. Energy! We knew it was bad but did not realize how bad...we figured we spend at least $1800.00 each month on energy (kerosene/electric/gasoline/wood pellets) in the cold months. We discussed getting yet another job...we already work 3 jobs between us and have to hire in help a couple days a week. We talked about cutting other expenses, but not much more fat to trim unless I got rid of the dogs. What we really need to cut is energy cost. Cutting gasoline cost- with the rising cost we have only making needed trips and have gotten great at consolidating trips. We talked about more economical vehicles, but that would mean another payment which would cancel out the savings and if we got one for cash, it would add an insurance payment....plus would be of no use in the winter when we need 4WD. Even if we got rid of the kerosene and wood pellets and went back to all propane we would still have about the same cost per year for heating. Now looking into wood stoves. That would be more work, but much more economical. I found an antique wood cookstove for $300- picking it up tommorrow. It will not be enough to heat the whole house, so will need to replace the pellet stove with a wood stove. When we do the kitchen remodel this summer (already have most of the supplies), the propane stove will go. We already have ceramic tile for the floor, so will just need to put tile on the wall as well around the wood stove and it will be ready. The pellet stove was borrowed so will be returned and replaced by a Franklin.
Eventually, we would like to go either solar or windmills to supply our electric. I will keep an eye out for things that will work for less cost.
I am also starting to think more about bartering. We normally have enough produce to supply us for about 2 yrs. If I could barter a years worth for hay and grain for the animals, that would be another expense gone. I am considering setting up a produce stand at the end of the lane. I will have to check into laws about that.
Our chickens, turkeys and ducks already pay for themselves with chick/poult sales, eggs and meat. The rabbits...I need to find a little more econonomical way to raise them. Though I like the PenPals pellets as it contains no corn or soy and I wind up feeding less...I wonder if adding hay would cut down on the amount needed more without sacrificing growth rate. I may have to make hay racks for the cages and start feeding alfalfa hay to see. I have decided to not to add to the french lops and breed them very little. All I seem to be able to get back from them is an occassional pet or 4H sale. I can't butcher them...those faces and personality...neither can Tom. So going to concentrate on the meat rabbits which eat less and produce meat for the dogs. Dog food is a large weekly expense as we go through 15-20 lbs of RMB's a week which costs about 65 cents a lb for chicken quarters currently. I do find an occasional deer that has been hit and use that for dog food, but need to find a way to produce more meat from home. I am hoping the bucklings that get grown out will help with that. I am also considering a couple feeder pigs as they could be fed mostly garden scraps and goats milk and after we get the electric fence up- hair sheep which would be fed primarily off the land. The calves should be ready to pick up within in the next couple weeks. That will cut our food expense, as the sale of the second calf will pay for the raising and processing for both calves. I am looking into building a greenhouse to extend our growing season as well. After all that is in place, we should have enough food to feed us and the dogs with just household cleaners/personal care and dry staples needing purchased. My goal is to have our expenses down to the minimum when the house is paid off in 15 yrs so we can do with just one job, or a reverse mortgage on the farm.
Eventually, we would like to go either solar or windmills to supply our electric. I will keep an eye out for things that will work for less cost.
I am also starting to think more about bartering. We normally have enough produce to supply us for about 2 yrs. If I could barter a years worth for hay and grain for the animals, that would be another expense gone. I am considering setting up a produce stand at the end of the lane. I will have to check into laws about that.
Our chickens, turkeys and ducks already pay for themselves with chick/poult sales, eggs and meat. The rabbits...I need to find a little more econonomical way to raise them. Though I like the PenPals pellets as it contains no corn or soy and I wind up feeding less...I wonder if adding hay would cut down on the amount needed more without sacrificing growth rate. I may have to make hay racks for the cages and start feeding alfalfa hay to see. I have decided to not to add to the french lops and breed them very little. All I seem to be able to get back from them is an occassional pet or 4H sale. I can't butcher them...those faces and personality...neither can Tom. So going to concentrate on the meat rabbits which eat less and produce meat for the dogs. Dog food is a large weekly expense as we go through 15-20 lbs of RMB's a week which costs about 65 cents a lb for chicken quarters currently. I do find an occasional deer that has been hit and use that for dog food, but need to find a way to produce more meat from home. I am hoping the bucklings that get grown out will help with that. I am also considering a couple feeder pigs as they could be fed mostly garden scraps and goats milk and after we get the electric fence up- hair sheep which would be fed primarily off the land. The calves should be ready to pick up within in the next couple weeks. That will cut our food expense, as the sale of the second calf will pay for the raising and processing for both calves. I am looking into building a greenhouse to extend our growing season as well. After all that is in place, we should have enough food to feed us and the dogs with just household cleaners/personal care and dry staples needing purchased. My goal is to have our expenses down to the minimum when the house is paid off in 15 yrs so we can do with just one job, or a reverse mortgage on the farm.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Time to get busy-er!
The weather this week was a bit warmer- with a few cold nights in there and snow last night...but broken up with some days in the high 40's. Tom got his Jeep back- so I can stop playing chauffeur- yeah!!!
I had Peyton and Bella for the night on Friday. I swear Peyton looks so much like Austin with his blonde curls at that age- I was calling him Austin the first 2 hours! I got a couple photos of Peyton, but when I opened them they were too grainy :( Here is a couple pics of Austin at 2 though. Yes...that is me with the bleach blonde hair LOL That is Brandon next to him.
Hmmm I wonder if I can dig into the cake with my hands...
Cake or ice cream??? ...both!
I had Peyton and Bella for the night on Friday. I swear Peyton looks so much like Austin with his blonde curls at that age- I was calling him Austin the first 2 hours! I got a couple photos of Peyton, but when I opened them they were too grainy :( Here is a couple pics of Austin at 2 though. Yes...that is me with the bleach blonde hair LOL That is Brandon next to him.
Hmmm I wonder if I can dig into the cake with my hands...
Tabitha said she was going to get Peyton a hair cut...noooo! I love his blonde curls! I probably won't be seeing the other grandbabies for a long time- if ever. Ashley decided she is done with the marriage and staying in KY with her mom. She is mad at me because I posted the entire story of what happened on her facebook page as I got tired of her saying it was all Justin's fault and that he didn't care for his kids and hearing everyone bashing him. I did not get angry, I simply stated the facts and reminded her that when she married she commited to her husband above all others- including her mom. I illustrated that Justin was showing his commitment to her and his family by his actions and keeping the promises he made. She got mad enough to cuss me out and tell me to stay out of her conversations and to swear that she was not attached to her mother. I guess she didn't care for the truth being posted for all to see. She deleted me and Justin from her Facebook after he agreed with what I said.
I am looking for a mesh dog kennel so I can keep my escape artists contained. Been searching for a used one with no luck- so guess I am going to have to bite the bullet and buy new. Sigh. Maybe I will just start buying a panel or 2 at a time and convert all my kennels. It will take a while though. Wish I knew someone who could make them for me as I need custom sizes.
I have a busy week at work this week, but it is the last week with resets....so will slow down next week. Spent most of today cleaning up my office/puppy room. I could not beleive how much dust! I think I am going to take the cat box out of here, part of it was due to the scoopable litter being scratched out of the box....and scattered.
I am going to start working out again...starting tonight. I have lost almost all my weight, now just need to tone everything up sothe muscles show definition again. I WILL wear a bikini this summer!
I went shopping the clearance racks this week...bought almost $100 worth of clothes for $10! The jeans are size 7...I plan to be fitting into those shortly.
I hired Morgan back to take care of the animals on the days both Tom and I work late. So far she is doing a really good job- even Tom is commenting on it. I ran into Parker (eye candy) yesterday. Oh my ...he is looking even better! Thinking I need to hire him back this summer just so I can watch him with his shirt off again LOL
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The Best Food to Feed Your Dog – Part I | B-Naturals.Com Newsletter
The Best Food to Feed Your Dog – Part I B-Naturals.Com Newsletter
Great series of articles! A must read! Read all parts.
Great series of articles! A must read! Read all parts.
Week ending on a good note
After a tumultous start of the week...farm helper moved out, could not get ahold of my hay guy and the hay I did find was way overpriced and not even alfalfa, money coming ut of the account unexpectedly (Justin's bill) , money not hitting the account as it should, running out of gas (someone siphoned?), pellet stove malfunctioning and filing the house with smoke, etc. Its getting better now though. I had a rough day in Huntington yesterday with a visiting market manager with a chip on her shoulder- found out there is bad blood between the store manager and her and I just happened to be a target. She found out that I may be polite, but I won't stand for being told that I am not doing my work and threats to call my boss. After I showed her proof I was doing my work properly and told her to go ahead and call my supervisor that I would be calling her to tell her to expect her call- she backed off. I was so angry though I could spit. I did manage to get most of my work completed thanks to a couple of DM's in the store that helped me out while she was out of sight, but was still in a horrible mood.
Brandon called me on my way back to Ft wayne and told me gas was shooting up, so got $60 worth (which is about gone in 24 hours) with having only one vehicle for 2 people. I took the truck in to check for damage from the accident last friday. No suspension damage...may have a bent rim, but will find that out when it goes to the shop for the dent repair as I was not going to pay for them to remove the tire and check as that was not included in the free inspection. Justin met me so he could pay back the money for the bill that Ashley lied about paying when he was in Iraq -that they took out of my account. We went over to the pet store as he needed advice on what to get for his fish tank. I was getting ready to leave when my brother called him and said there was a steak dinner at this bar for $6. I decided to take Tom out and skip cooking even though it was bar, so picked him up and headed over there to meet Justin and Mike. Though my expectations were very low, the dinner was surprisingly good- the steak cooked perfectly and a nice size. I had a drink so let Tom drive home. Justin arrived a few minutes before we had to leave- he was busy messing with his tank. Got home and had a couple more drinks, after that I felt much better. I skipped emailing my boss about the incident earlier as she had requested. Considering my state-I thought it best to be able to spell and word things politely. Reminded today why I drink rarely....upsets my stomach the next day.
Went to pick up the Jeep this morning and found the battery was dead. The shop said they had charged the battery yesterday....so needed a new one. Took Tom to work and headed over to one of my stores to check on a water display that I was supposed to assemble today. Wanted to be sure they had it pulled by the time I came back and make sure they had someone to assist, as it is a 2 person job. Found they had set up a large display of pop, chips and various dips that was half way to the ceiling in that spot and store manager would not move it till it sold down in 2 weeks. Stopped home on my way to work in Columbia City and checked online for battery prices and online deals for a battery. Found that even though Advanced Auto was a little more, I could get it cheaper with a discount code they sent me. Bought a $72 battery for $46! Ordered it online with the store pick up option- picked it up on my way to get Tom from work. If anyone is interested, you can get up to 40% off too with my referral http://advanceautoparts.tellapal.com/a/clk/qYpH6 .
Got most of my store calls done, but I was running too late- thanks to drivers that like to go 10 miles under the speed limit, so will have to go back and finish the Ft Wayne store tomorrow morning. Tom could tell I had another rough day and bought me some chinese food on the way home so I wouldn't have to cook. He is taking care of the animals for me tonight too. What a sweetie.
I am going to take the truck to Brandon's tommorrow to fix the crack in the transfer case that Austin supposedly fixed before. Maybe it will keep me from having to add fluid so much or at all. Then I am going to pick the grandbabies and keep them for the night. I ran into Tabbi and the babies the other day at one of my stores. Peyton was so excited to see me. I miss them so- been almost a month! Work seems to be slowing down some though, so I should be able to see them more often soon.
Brandon has been harrassed this week. Somone posted a nasty ad on CL personals saying that he was looking for sex with men and wanted photos sent. It would have been kinda funny if they just posted it for a few hours then took it down, but they didn't and he was getting calls and penis photos all night. We managed to get that one removed with a report and many people flagging it but they put up another the next morning. This time saying his wife was a skinny b***** and that he wanted a large girl to have sex with. He found out when a girl called him. He is filing a report with the police. Hoping to find out who is doing this. Seems he really ticked off someone, but to make a personal attack on his wife is NOT right. Well, better get the inside chicks taken care of and clean up the muddy footprints the dogs made. At least it was rather nice today and will be warmer tomorrow.
Brandon called me on my way back to Ft wayne and told me gas was shooting up, so got $60 worth (which is about gone in 24 hours) with having only one vehicle for 2 people. I took the truck in to check for damage from the accident last friday. No suspension damage...may have a bent rim, but will find that out when it goes to the shop for the dent repair as I was not going to pay for them to remove the tire and check as that was not included in the free inspection. Justin met me so he could pay back the money for the bill that Ashley lied about paying when he was in Iraq -that they took out of my account. We went over to the pet store as he needed advice on what to get for his fish tank. I was getting ready to leave when my brother called him and said there was a steak dinner at this bar for $6. I decided to take Tom out and skip cooking even though it was bar, so picked him up and headed over there to meet Justin and Mike. Though my expectations were very low, the dinner was surprisingly good- the steak cooked perfectly and a nice size. I had a drink so let Tom drive home. Justin arrived a few minutes before we had to leave- he was busy messing with his tank. Got home and had a couple more drinks, after that I felt much better. I skipped emailing my boss about the incident earlier as she had requested. Considering my state-I thought it best to be able to spell and word things politely. Reminded today why I drink rarely....upsets my stomach the next day.
Went to pick up the Jeep this morning and found the battery was dead. The shop said they had charged the battery yesterday....so needed a new one. Took Tom to work and headed over to one of my stores to check on a water display that I was supposed to assemble today. Wanted to be sure they had it pulled by the time I came back and make sure they had someone to assist, as it is a 2 person job. Found they had set up a large display of pop, chips and various dips that was half way to the ceiling in that spot and store manager would not move it till it sold down in 2 weeks. Stopped home on my way to work in Columbia City and checked online for battery prices and online deals for a battery. Found that even though Advanced Auto was a little more, I could get it cheaper with a discount code they sent me. Bought a $72 battery for $46! Ordered it online with the store pick up option- picked it up on my way to get Tom from work. If anyone is interested, you can get up to 40% off too with my referral http://advanceautoparts.tellapal.com/a/clk/qYpH6 .
Got most of my store calls done, but I was running too late- thanks to drivers that like to go 10 miles under the speed limit, so will have to go back and finish the Ft Wayne store tomorrow morning. Tom could tell I had another rough day and bought me some chinese food on the way home so I wouldn't have to cook. He is taking care of the animals for me tonight too. What a sweetie.
I am going to take the truck to Brandon's tommorrow to fix the crack in the transfer case that Austin supposedly fixed before. Maybe it will keep me from having to add fluid so much or at all. Then I am going to pick the grandbabies and keep them for the night. I ran into Tabbi and the babies the other day at one of my stores. Peyton was so excited to see me. I miss them so- been almost a month! Work seems to be slowing down some though, so I should be able to see them more often soon.
Brandon has been harrassed this week. Somone posted a nasty ad on CL personals saying that he was looking for sex with men and wanted photos sent. It would have been kinda funny if they just posted it for a few hours then took it down, but they didn't and he was getting calls and penis photos all night. We managed to get that one removed with a report and many people flagging it but they put up another the next morning. This time saying his wife was a skinny b***** and that he wanted a large girl to have sex with. He found out when a girl called him. He is filing a report with the police. Hoping to find out who is doing this. Seems he really ticked off someone, but to make a personal attack on his wife is NOT right. Well, better get the inside chicks taken care of and clean up the muddy footprints the dogs made. At least it was rather nice today and will be warmer tomorrow.
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